Random Sampler

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

You know when Al Sharpton is invited by the president of the
United States to offer his ideas on how police should conduct themselves on how
to do their jobs in high crime areas, we
are in trouble. For a president so concerned with optics, after frequent,
insensitive mishaps, this is disturbing.

Sharpton, the polarizing race baiter and tax evader has no place in the White House.
The outhouse would be more appropriate. He has done nothing to bring harmony to
the great racial divide that now exists in our country. In fact, he has helped
create it. From planting the seeds of hate in the nascent stage of his then medallion
wearing career in the Tawana Brawley case to the present situation in Ferguson,
MO. Closer to his New York City home he is fanning the flames in the tense
situation awaiting the grand jury decision whether or not to indict a police
officer in the strangle hold death of
Eric Garner, the Staten Island man who was arrested for selling illegal
cigarettes.

Of course, Mr. Brown and Mr. Garner would both be alive
today, if they had heeded police requests to cease and desist. Both were caught
in the commissions of a crime. Should the police have just let them go as some
liberal pundits have posited? Should we allow certain citizens because of the
color of their skin get away with crimes to avoid the rage and destruction we
witnessed in the aftermath of the grand
jury decision in Ferguson?

While the president is trying to assuage the marauding gangs
of rioters but little has been done to help the business owners who lost their
livelihood in the looting and rampaging. Most of these businesses were
minority-owned. These are the citizens who should be held up as role models for
African-American youth to emulate; not the “scumbags,” former basketball star
Charles Barkley’s words. Perhaps the most egregious offense in the rioting was
the burning down of the African-American church attended by Michael Brown’s
father. What possible reason could there
be for this? And if you can believe it the pastor of the church blamed white
supremacists for the torching! This demonstrates the level of delusion and anarchy
in the African-American community.

In an ironic twist, Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, NJ, hasrequested additional police officers to
respond to the Thanksgiving weekend of
violence where there were 11 shootings and 3 fatalities and multiple injuries.
Mayor Baraka should be lauded for this action. While the police aren’tperfect by and large they are our only hope
to keep us safe – all of us.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Now that the dust has cleared from last Tuesday’s Republican
victory at the polls we are sure of only one thing: more dust is on the way.
The spin coming out of the Liberal media that the blowout doesn’t necessarily
mean the last two years of the Obama administration cannot still be productive
is akin to what our youth soccer and little leagues have evolved to. Nobody
loses and we are better for the experience of being in the game.

When one political side loses these days, it’s not a
repudiation of their philosophy, it’s a communication problem. Their message
wasn’tenunciated properly. In fact, in
this past election it was overly enunciated by the deafening silence on the
administration’s six-year record . Almost
every Democrat candidate running would rather have been seen with Jack the Ripper
than President Obama.

An editorial in the Chinese newspaper, Global Times, put it
in stark terms: “He (Obama) has done an insipid job, offering nearly nothing to
his supporters. U.S. society has grown tired of his banality.” Ouch.

Mr. Obama used to be fond of saying that elections have
consequences. But that only applies to Democrat victories. The arrogance and
threats that he will act unilaterally on issues he feels important harkens back
to the Nixonian era.But this virulent
strain is more monarchical, even tyrannical.

Perhaps the president’s most troubling statement is that he is also thinking about the two-thirds
of the electorate that sat out last Tuesday. He seems more beholden to this
apatheticconstituency than the folks
who exercised their voices so their government could hear them.

When the next stalemate materializes, look for the
president to blame his ubiquitous foil, the obstructionist Republicans. This was already
evident at the White House luncheon the president hosted for the leaders of
both parties, who looked like they’d rather be in a dentist’s chair getting a
root canal. Unless consensus can be found in the next two years to get the
country moving again we might all opt for the root canal.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

When October comes around with its welcomed chill and
variegated pallet, I delve into my most cherishedfamily tradition – making wine. If you are of
Italian extraction as I am you don’t have to delve too deeply into the past to find a forebear who made wine. For me it
was my grandfather.

This is my 37th year of wine making and each and
every year has brought aunique
satisfaction. My friend and I whom I started making wine withall those years ago now make it separately
but still exchange notes and bottles throughout the year. And yes, lament the
fact of the ever increasing price
ofCalifornia grapes. When we started,
the price for a 42-lb case was $12; today for a 36-lb. casethe price is $40. Together, there were
timeswe made 100 gallons; now, we each
make separately about 25.

Throughout the years we have accumulateda wealth of experience anda more discerning palate. We have
tinkeredand tweaked our recipes to
producea most enjoyable wine every
year. And it’s absolutely all pure, fermented grape juice, no additives. As a
result it has a short life span: from December to May. It peaks in March but by
that time more than half of the stash of bottles hasbeen dispensed as welcomedChristmasor birthday gifts to friends and family.

When I seesomeone
take that first sip of the new wine and exclaim how wonderful it is, it makes
the painstaking job of making it all
worthwhile. But it also reminds me of my grandfather in his wine cellar. Myself
and mytwo older cousins would look on while
pilfering small bunches of grapes to eat.We’d watch him turn the crank of his grape crusher until he was
finishedwith the first step in the
process. He’d clean his equipment and we’d help; then he would pour us kids a
small glass from the vintage of the year before. It sure didn’t taste like the
wine I make now. It had a much rougher edge to it. It wasn’t as smoothor hadhints of cherry or blackberry notes like the Cabernet SauvignonI’ve made in the past and am making this year.
No his was a heartier fare to enjoy
after a hard day’s work, contributing to the building of this great country.

I’m sorry I never had the opportunity to clink glasses of my
wine with my grandfather, he would have been very proudthat I had kept up the tradition as I am of
him for handing it down to me. Salud, grandpa.

Monday, September 15, 2014

In 1974 a referendum on legalized gambling failed to pass in
New Jersey. Two years later it did. And the power brokers who were pushing for
it then wouldhave made sure it was on the ballot until it did pass. It was important, it was said, to add to the state’s
coffers and support new state initiatives and
education. Ah, education – the black
hole of American politics. Thirty–eight years later, politiciansare still carping about the need for more
funds for education.

The salty air was full of promise of revitalizing Atlantic City.
All those mom and pop businesses: shops, cafes and restaurants that had been relegated to the dust heap of
urban decaywould once again enjoya booming patronage. Never happened.
Oncea casino was built it became an
all-encompassing entity. All your needs could be obtained therein with a
plethora of diningoptions in the hotels
themselves. Why would you want your
clienteleleaving your premises for any reason while they still had two rubles left in their pockets to lose. If anything,gambling in Atlantic City spawned pawn shops
and prostitution. And catered to the addictions of thrill seekers. And its
fabledSteel Pier, a family attraction
for generations, was dismembered. Why
would you want kids distracting from their parents' time onthe casino floor. Better to let the whippersnappers stay at home while
mom and dad thinned out their college
funds.

Big players were offered comped rooms. How many times did I
hear friends and acquaintancesboast of “being comped,” as if it was some endearing invitation from
their friends at Caesars or Trump’s or Harrah’s or Resorts the first
casino to open in 1978. “Being comped ,” to these slubs, carried James Bondian
status but even Moneypenny would have seen through the subterfuge.

Then there were the senior bus rides from all over New
Jersey, enticing senior citizens to enjoyan exciting day awayfrom the
doldrums of old age. With an added bonus of getting $25 in quartersfor the slots and, in some cases, a complementary free lunch. Coming up with
activities where our seniors could blow their Social Security checks – now
that’s community-minded altruism.

The final straw in the demise of paradise by the sea was a
hostof casinos going down for the third
time, drowning in an ocean of red ink, especially thetwo-year-old Revel, acasino builtcosting $2.4 billion. Itwasjust soldto Florida's Polo North Country Club
for $90 million and will be reborn, so a spokesman says, as a “mega casino,” pending
court approval. The new ownersmust
still believe the adage that a fool and his money go separate ways. Or, as P.T.
Barnumonce said, “There’s a sucker born
every minute.”

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Another American journalist has reportedly been beheaded by
another blood thirsty, ISIS jihadi. Early reports indicate it may be the same
man who beheaded James Foley. I am curious as to how the Obama administration
will spin and vacillate over this latest horror. We know how the president
handled the last execution – a tepid speech followed by a round of golf. With
nary a wince for Mr.Foley’s parents.

These last few months have seemed to unravel any notion that
we are safe and secure in America. The southern border continues to spurt
strangers with little or no documentation. Then there’s the thousands of
Central American children who trekked north, many all alone. Some with diseases
and other problems saddling border towns witheconomichardship. In such a
scenario are we being alarmist thinking that the very people who are murdering
in the name of religion have found their way here as easily as unaccompanied
children.

The international picture continues to be bleak. China and
Russia continue their expansionist policies. Remember when both the Soviet
Union and China accused the United States of being an imperial power? And there
were plenty of voicesin this country
who agreed with that assessment. That liberal argument has collapsed under the weight of its own incredulity.

At least in those days, though, we had a cohesive foreign policy, presided over by an engaged chief executive. Now our foreign policy seems to be formulatedon the fly by a host of incompetent advisors . Sometimes not. The president announced
last week he has no strategy as of yet to deal with ISIS. Pronouncements like
these should scare the hell out of all Americans. Just as the horrific images
being splashed across social media of Steven Sotloff being murdered.

Mr.Presidentdo
something to assuage the grief of Mr. Sotloff’s family. Do something to help the innocent
people being herded into dead marches and mass graves. If you’re not up to it; or have
checked out like so many of your critics have said, then step down. Our
constitution allows for the transfer of power when a president is
incapacitated. For whatever reason we seem to have breached this territory. You’d
have so much more free time for fund raising and socializing with your elitist
friends. And, for golf of course.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

The conflict in Gaza seems to be following the usual
paradigm. Charges and counter–charges by the principals. Civilians being murdered,
armaments stored in hospitals and schools. Who can say with certainty what is
true and what is not. As the ancient Greek Aeschylus said, “In war, truth is
the first casualty.”

Another fragile cease
fire seems to be holding for the time being. How long will it last? A few days;
a few weeks; a few months? All that can be said with certainty is -- it will not last.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a quandary for the ages.
Indeed, the whole of the Middle East is a Rubik’s cube of misery ever since the British
and French divided the spoils of the Ottoman Empire into colonial fiefdoms they
figured to exploit to enrich the home front with the mother’s milk of
industrialization: oil. It was to their advantage to have friendly, and, in
some cases, ruthlessautocracies in
place to maintain the status quo. But with the Arab spring and its aftermath we
are seeing an unraveling ofthe region. The one constant has been the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the latest chapter, the pendulum of
support seems to be favoring the Palestinian side. Because of the disproportionate
amount of fatalities , world opinion is shifting toward Israel’s enemies for
the first time. In Europe and the US, demonstrations against Israel are
becomingmore frequent and vociferous.
There is palpable support
for the Palestinians and it continues to grow.

Unfortunately, only more misery lies ahead for them. Their
country is non-contiguous, governed(and I use that term loosely) by two ruling factions which cannot unite
in any meaningful way. Hamas in Gaza has
remained stridentin its goal to destroy
Israel. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, more moderate than Hamas
but just as intransigent, can only lament the proliferation of more Jewish settlements
on their land.

What’s next. Another tenuous truce. More non-productive
peace talks; then, if Israel decides not
to re-occupy Gaza, more Hamas rockets will rain down on the Israelis. And they will respond more forcefully again.

General MacArthur had it right when he said, “War’s very object is victory, not prolonged
indecision.” In this war the object is more indecision, not victory.

Friday, July 25, 2014

As we approach the upcoming mid-term elections in November,
the most interesting development is the sight of Mitch Romney stumping forRepublican candidates. After his defeat in
2012, he affirmed his attention not to run for president again. But the thought
that he might give it another try is
intriguing.

Perhaps this notion
is fueled by my reading of Patrick Buchanan’s, “The Greatest Comeback.” It’s the
story of Richard Nixon’s improbable election in 1968, after being humiliated in
the 1962 California gubernatorial race, and after being narrowly defeated by John
Kennedy, just two years earlier. Incidentally, Nixon's biggest challenger for the GOP nomination in 1968 was Mitt's father, Gov. George Romney of Michigan.

Romney must see the weak field in both the Democratic and
Republican camps. The two early front runners: Hillary Clinton and Chris
Christie are attenuating as each day goes by. Secretary Clinton is practicing
self-immolation. Her tepid memoir, “Hard Choices,” is a complete flop. No
substance whatsoever and her recordat
the State department hardly stellar. And her penurious pronouncements while she rakes in $250,000 per speech beyond ridiculous. Christie on the other hand, is trying to distance
himself from former best bud, Barack Obama, criticizing the president for his handling of the
influx of immigrants pouring over our southern border. But Texas governor, Rick
Perry, also a possible candidate in 2016, has this issue in his backyard and back pocket.

In addition, Christie has alienated many Republicans by his
lack of support for Rob
Astorino, the Westchester County Executive who is challenging New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
in November. He has termed Astorino’s quest a “lost cause.” This
pronouncement might very well be the biggest Christie blunder to date. The
whole Bridgegate affair notwithstanding.

Cuomo is now under fire forhis lack of support for the Moreland Commission. A commission he set up
to root out corruption in his state’s political system after a host of elected
officials were implicated in unsavory practices. This could very well damage
Cuomo in the coming months. Enough to catapult Astorino?Who knows? But it certainly changes the game.
It will be interesting to see if Romney offers his support to Cuomo’s
challenger.

There has been much said about the mistakes Romney made in
the last presidential election. His message may be resonating with the nation
now and he has certainly proven his ability to adapt to changing scenarios. But make no mistake it would be an uphill
battle of Nixonian proportions.